Out of Hope
by racefh853629
Summary: Dark two-shot. "It had been at least three weeks now, and Castiel and Sam hadn't found him. If they were even still looking at all."
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I don't own Supernatural, the CW, or any other known entity. This takes place sometime after the ending of the Apocalypse, and has 2 parts. The second should be up either later today or tomorrow. I have no idea where this story came from, but anyway... Dean is severely defeated by this point, and there is some bad language... those are my warnings. I hope you guys enjoy, and please review. :)

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Out of Hope

He was on the floor… again.

After all the battles that he had fought, one would think that the floor would be a place that Dean was used to. But then again, not so much. At least, not like this.

He was on the floor inside a cage, similar to the one the Benders had locked Sam in all those years ago, except the door wasn't locked from a distance. The lock was right there, on the cage. But every time Dean dared to stand up, try to make a move out of there, he would be thrown back to the floor.

Dean made yet another note to stay away from everyone.

He couldn't be sure which of the million or so people might have turned on him this time. A victim he saved, a person who was threatened, a demon, who knows. But Dean was here now, in this cage, beaten and bloodied on the floor.

Not for the first time, he cursed Castiel.

If it wasn't for Castiel's internal carvings, the angel could easily find Dean where he was and get him the hell out of this place. But it had been at least three weeks now, and Castiel and Sam hadn't found him.

If they were even looking at all.

Dean shivered, his body frozen in this tiny room. He was almost certain he was somewhere cold, perhaps somewhere like Northern Russia. But, if he were outside of the U.S., he knew there was no way that anyone would find him. Because Sam would never think to fly somewhere, and Castiel wouldn't know _how_ to find him.

With each passing day, Dean felt a little more of himself slip away.

At least once a day, he would think about getting up and walking to the other side of the cage. Depending on the moment and how much pain he was in, maybe he might actually attempt it. But the second he got up, he was thrown back to the floor. If he tried to crawl, he would get another muscle painfully popped or he would find himself chained against the bars. He couldn't win, no matter how he tried.

This was the most fucked up punishment that Dean could think of.

For once, Dean's captor actually appeared in front of him, just beyond the bars of the cage. And Dean found himself chained down, unable to reach out and beat his captor. Not that that would have done him any good.

Only an angel can kill an angel.

"Have you learned your lesson yet?" the angel before him said, half-glaring.

"Which lesson would that be?" Dean asked wearily, too tired and pained to fight much anymore. He had lost the urge to fight sometime last week.

"This can all be over…"

"If I say yes? I thought I already saved the world."

The angel scoffed, leaning in toward the cage. "You were supposed to say yes."

Dean looked at his captor with confusion. "So, because I found a loophole, you're pissed at me?"

The angel waved his hand dismissively. "No."

"Then what lesson should I have learned?" The words were not spoken with malice, as Dean had figured out in three weeks that malice would not be useful. Being here was almost as bad as being in Hell, given that the angel before him would bring him to the brink of death, only to restore his life and start all over. Unlike Hell, though, there was no offer to stop the pain, as his captor had not entered the room up until this point. Whatever Dean could have learned, he would learn, if for no reason other than to make this stop.

"You were supposed to fight for the angels," the other man said.

"I'm sorry," Dean said sincerely, hoping that would get him freed.

As the angel scoffed, Dean felt his hopes get crushed again. "No, you're not. You're not sorry."

Dean felt a hand practically rip into his chest, despite the fact that the angel was still outside the cage. Dean screamed in pain, even though his throat was raw from all the screaming of the past three weeks. "Please, stop," Dean practically begged, feeling worn out and unable to take anymore.

The angel leaned forward again, glaring as the pain stopped for the time being. "Give me one good reason why I should show you mercy, when you did nothing to help me and my brothers out. You have yelled at us, scoffed at us, cursed at us. You've been blatantly disobedient to everyone, and for some reason, Castiel put up with it. I don't know why."

"He has a better sense of humor?" The comment earned Dean another gash across his chest, causing him to cry out again. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

"Do you even know the meaning of the words?" the angel taunted, stepping back.

"Yes, I do." Dean coughed, bloody mucus pouring out of his mouth. Another thing that had happened a lot lately. But the angel would always restore him, make him better, just to destroy him again. "Please, tell me what I did wrong. Please."

The angel chuckled. "I never thought I'd see the day when the great and fearless Dean Winchester was afraid."

Dean felt a slight resolve growing in him, the desire to survive. But at the same time, he knew it wouldn't be long before that, too, would go away. Just as it always did. Because this was one battle that even stubborn Dean Winchester couldn't win.

"You want to know what you did wrong?" the angel asked, leaning close to the cage again.

"Please," Dean rasped, choking on blood and pain.

"You got me cast out of Heaven. You got me in trouble with my father. So now I'm as hunted as Castiel once was."

"That's not _my_ fault," Dean said, both anger and fear fueling him. "_You_ allowed this to happen. You could've stopped Lilith from breaking the rest of the seals, and you didn't. You could've stopped Sam from breaking the last seal, and you didn't. That's not on _me_. That's _you_."

Dean felt his body get ripped into again as the angel calmly stared at him. "All you had to do was say yes to Michael."

"The Earth is still intact," Dean muttered through the pain. "Why are you so mad?"

"Because, Dean. Humans weren't supposed to survive. We angels were supposed to have the world for ourselves. And _you_ ruined that. You only looked after _your_ own best interest."

Dean furrowed his brow. "Isn't that what you were doing?" Dean got a hard blow to the stomach, all while the angel stood back.

"Paradise was always meant for the angels. Not for _you_."

Dean closed his eyes, breathing deeply as the pain subsided somewhat.

"_You_ were supposed to do that for us. You were the _only one_ who could. But you wouldn't just accept your role and do what you were told. You had to go and find the loophole. You _had _to be the _hero_ for the human race."

Dean whimpered as his body was beaten further, him getting hit with every word the angel was speaking.

"Well, Mr. Hero, you're stuck here. And here you will remain for as long as I am hunted by Heaven. Every day, you will suffer, and every night, you will freeze. You can wish you would die to get out of here, but even that won't work. Sam will never find you, Bobby will never find you, and Castiel can't find you anyway. You'll never get out of here."

Dean cried softly as pain ripped through him again.

"Scream, cry, whatever you want," the angel continued. "No one can hear you."

"Zachariah," Dean choked out.

"Your apologies mean nothing, Dean. Your words mean nothing. You are going to suffer, and you're going to die. Alone."

"Zachariah, please."

"You're all out of favors, Dean. You lose." Zachariah disappeared before Dean could say another word.

When Zachariah left, Dean's bonds were broken, and the damaged hunter sunk against the floor yet again. If he had much energy left in him, he might try to free himself. But even then, he knew that would end badly, with even more pain. He couldn't quite take much more.

He was running out of time, out of options, and, even worse, out of hope.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: As promised, I'm back! See the first chapter for the disclaimer. I hope you guys enjoy this last chapter, and please review. :)

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Out of Hope, Part 2

Sam was sitting on a bench, holding his cell phone in his hand. Three weeks, and he kept expecting the same thing- for Dean to call and say where he was. For Dean to let Sam know he was okay. For three weeks, Sam waited.

And for three weeks, Sam was disappointed.

Sam wasn't even sure where to look anymore. The list of people who wanted to torture or kill Dean wasn't exactly short. And, it wasn't entirely restricted to humans. Evil spirits, demons, witches… and that was only the beginning.

Sam wouldn't give up, though. Not until he had a solid answer. Because if the reverse had happened, Dean wouldn't give up until Sam was found.

Sam's phone rang, but it wasn't the number he was hoping for. "You got somethin', Cas?" he answered hopefully.

"Where are you?" Castiel replied, urgency in his voice while not answering the question.

"Riverfront Park, Daytona Beach, Florida."

Before another word could be spoken, Castiel was beside Sam. The younger man turned his head toward the angel.

"You find something?" Sam asked again.

Castiel sat down, looking more grave than usual. "Dean was abducted by an angel," he replied softly.

Sam turned sharply, glaring at Castiel as his temper flared. "It took you _three weeks_ to find out that one of your own kidnapped Dean?"

"This angel no longer answers to God or anyone else," Castiel said, his voice even despite the hints of emotion swirling underneath him. "It makes him that much harder to figure out and track down, since he is on the run and afraid of being killed."

Sam's gaze eased a bit out of anger as confusion settled in too. "What angel doesn't answer to God?"

Castiel sighed softly. "Zachariah."

Sam tilted his head. "_Zachariah_ has Dean?"

"Yes."

"Where?"

"Northern Maine."

"Where in Northern Maine, Cas? Dean's been missing for almost a month. He could be dead already."

Castiel shook his head. "He's not." He stood up, and Sam followed suit.

Before either could blink, they were standing outside an abandoned cabin. The air was frigid, and the ground was covered in a fresh blanket of snow. "Dean is in the basement," Castiel said gravely. "Go in through the broken window in the back, straight into the basement. I will come down for both of you when the time is right."

"Cas," Sam said softly, knowing that even if Zachariah was cut off and hiding, he was still stronger than Castiel, whose grace wasn't yet completely restored.

"Go," Castiel ordered.

Sam sighed and nodded, sneaking around the back of the house as Castiel walked straight through the front door.

"Zachariah," Castiel said, drawing the once-senior angel's attention.

Zachariah stiffened, turning around. "Castiel, what are you doing here?" he asked.

Castiel held his position as Zachariah stepped closer. "You are to be sent back to Heaven to be dealt with."

Zachariah scoffed. "You do not have the strength to fight me, even in my weakened state. And you, especially, cannot make me go back."

Castiel narrowed his eyes ever so slightly. "I am aware that I may not be strong enough. However, I did not come alone."

Zachariah shook his head. "Sam Winchester cannot help you now. He cannot even help his brother."

Castiel allowed himself the tiniest smirk of victory. "I never said that Sam Winchester was my backup."

Another figure made his way through the front door, causing Zachariah's mouth to drop open in utter shock.

*~*~*~*

Sam made his way into the backyard, finding a window with a hole in it. Just as Castiel said. He peered through it, finding the cage which held an extremely defeated Dean. "Dean," Sam called softly through the hole.

Dean refused to stir.

Sam kicked the window, shattering it further. The breaking glass got Dean's attention, and the older brother looked at the shards with wounded interest. Sam cleared out the jagged edges of the window before lowering himself down into the basement.

"Dean," Sam said again, standing up on the floor.

"S'mmy?" Dean asked, looking up through half-closed eyes.

"Yeah, it's me. I'm gonna get you out of here, okay?"

Dean shook his head slowly. "But…"

"Zach's gonna get what's coming to him." Sam broke the lock off the cage, throwing open the door.

Dean didn't make a move toward the open door, his current amount of pain too much for him to move. Sam made his way into the cage, kneeling next to his brother.

"Dean, talk to me," Sam said, concerned.

"I hate angels," Dean replied agonizingly, his voice dripping with malice.

Sam scoffed. "Me too. Let's get you out of this cage."

Dean lazily nodded, allowing for Sam to do most of the work. "How exactly are we getting out of here?" the older brother finally asked as Sam positioned himself to take the brunt of Dean's weight.

"Cas didn't explain that part," Sam replied carefully, starting to move his brother.

Dean hissed. "Oh, son of a bitch."

Sam frowned. "I'm sorry."

Dean shook his head again as Sam got both of them out of the cage. As the two of them stood up on the basement floor, with Dean leaning heavily against Sam, Castiel and Gabriel made their way into the basement.

"Hello, Dean," Gabriel, still wearing the face of the Trickster he had been hiding in, said.

"Are you okay?" Castiel asked, concerned.

"No," Dean answered honestly as he continued to rely on Sam to hold him up.

"My apologies."

Dean shook his head, not wanting to hear Castiel's words. "Not right now."

Castiel flinched lightly, but nodded.

"Well, rather than sit here, let's get you to the hospital," Gabriel said.

"Can't you just work your angel mojo and make him better?" Sam asked.

"Let's get you back to Daytona Beach and figure things out from there," Castiel said, looking first at Gabriel, then the brothers.

"Why?" Dean mumbled.

"That's where the car is," Sam said softly.

Dean nodded. "Get me to the car. I'll be okay."

"Dean, you're covered in blood," Gabriel said softly.

"Yeah, I'm aware of that," Dean replied. "Been that way for a few weeks now. Just get me the hell out of here."

Gabriel nodded as Castiel cringed slightly again. The archangel snapped his fingers, transporting the four of them to the park Castiel had met Sam.

"Daytona Beach?" Dean asked, looking at Sam.

Sam shrugged. "At least it's warm," he answered.

Dean tilted his head back and forth dismissively.

"Now what?" Gabriel asked, looking over at Castiel.

Castiel looked over to Dean.

"I'm fine," Dean muttered.

"You're leaning on Sam," Gabriel objected. "You're bleeding."

"I think I just want to heal this one on my own, okay?"

Gabriel shrugged as Castiel furrowed his brow.

"We'll get you to the hospital," Sam said.

Dean shook his head. "I don't need the hospital," he refuted. "I'm tired, I'm hurt, but I'm not dyin'. Zachariah had just reset and started again when you guys got there."

"What exactly does that mean?"

Dean just looked at him.

"Zachariah can be rather torturous when he wants," Castiel said, looking at Sam.

"If I'm not needed anymore, then I'm heading back," Gabriel said.

"Gabriel?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

Gabriel shook his head. "No thanks is needed, brother. I told you before, I like these guys." With a snap of his fingers, Gabriel was gone, leaving Sam and Castiel to lead Dean to the Impala.

"So, you got the Trickster to help you?" Dean asked, looking at Castiel.

Castiel shrugged. "He owed me after throwing me into Hell while you guys were in TV land," he said.

"He threw you into Hell?" Sam asked while Dean climbed slowly into the passenger's seat.

Castiel merely nodded.

"So now what?" Dean asked.

"Good question," Sam said. "We'll stay here for now, I guess."

"Good. I can use the warmth."

"I should be going," Castiel said, starting to back away.

"Hey Cas," Sam said.

Castiel stopped.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome," Castiel said.

"Does that mean you're done on Earth?" Dean asked.

Castiel shrugged with a slight smile. "I'm not sure my work will ever be done down here."

Dean nodded.

"Take care," Castiel said before flying away.

"Come on, Sam," Dean said. "Let's go."

"Yeah, okay," Sam said, walking around to the other side of the car and climbing in. "We'll get to the motel, you can shower, and I'll get something to eat."

"Sounds good."

Sam nodded, starting up the Impala.

After a few moments of silence, Dean shifted and groaned out, "I really hate Zachariah."

"Yeah," Sam breathed softly. "Me too."

The End


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